Tuesday, January 19, 1999 Published at 14:44 GMTEntertainmentJagger still faces huge pay-out - lawyerJerry Hall is reportedly seeking a £30m settlementRolling Stones singer Mick Jagger's claim that his marriage to Jerry Hall is invalid may not help him in court, according to a top lawyer.

Jagger's legal team are planning to contest Hall's petition to divorce him on the grounds the couple are not married.

The Texan model announced on Friday she was petitioning for divorce in what could be the most expensive split in British legal history.

The Jagger camp says the couple were never legally married - a claim that mirrors reports that emerged during a bust-up between them in August 1992.

The couple pictured in 1992

Then it was claimed that the priest who officiated at the couple's Hindu wedding ceremony on the Indonesian island of Bali did not receive the necessary legal documents.

Now Mark Stephens, from the law firm Stephens Innocent, believes Jagger could still have to make a costly settlement with Hall.

He said: "They seem to be married in the eyes of Hindu gods - but not in the eyes of the law in Indonesia and, of course, in order to get divorced, you have to be married under the laws of a particular state in the world."

But he added Hall could still force Jagger to make a financial settlement, if he can prove they are not legally married, by suing to nullify the marriage.

He predicted: "I think she will get £30m out of the settlement, which will be more than Britain's previous biggest settlement, which was Princess Diana's £17m from the Prince of Wales."

There was reportedly only one witness to the 1990 ceremony, and the necessary letter of authority was not obtained from the British Consul.

Jagger's lawyers are expected to argue that the religious part of the ceremony was completed but not the civil part: consequently the marriage is not legally recognised in Indonesia - and Britain.

It was reported last week that Hall, 42, had signed an affidavit alleging that the star had wrecked their marriage by "committing adultery with an unnamed woman".

The couple - who have been together since 1977 - are understood to have rowed bitterly over his alleged fling with model Luciana Giminez Mora, who is now five months pregnant.

Reports in the US claim the Brazilian is planning to take out a paternity suit against Jagger.

New York Post columnist Neil Travis reported her lawyer Raoul Fielder as saying he hoped Jagger would not have to take a DNA test, but he added: "We have faith in science."